Haslingden student's artwork selected to be used at Lancashire cinema

ART WORK by a Haslingden High School student has been selected by film giant Disney to be used at a Lancashire cinema.

Year nine pupil Lauren Griffins painted an acrylic and watercolour poster based on the new company’s new film, Maleficent.

Chris Laws, trade marketing executive at Walt Disney Studios, selected Lauren’s picture as the best and Matthew Rawcliffe, manager at Preston’s Vue Cinemas, arranged for it to be enlarged and used to promote the film.

Mr Rawcliffe – a former sixth form student at Haslingden High – also gave Lauren and her family VIP tickets to a screening of the movie as a prize. He said: “At the cinema we selected the top five entries and then Chris came along from Disney to pick the winner.

“I believe that the marketing for this film was wrong. It was very dark and sinister and I don’t think it reflected the film’s content and so we decided to hold a competition.

“Where better to run it than at my old school, Haslingden High School? I was delighted with the quality of entries.”

Lauren, 13, started her piece in a school lesson and finished it off at home after looking at old Disney posters and trailers for inspiration.

She said: “I spent the first lesson just looking at the pictures and coming up with ideas. I then finished the poster off at home and it took me two days to complete.

“When I found out I had won I was delighted and my dad was very proud when he saw my poster on display in the cinema advertising the film.

“I thought the film was good and not what I had expected, especially when it explored the childhood of Maleficent.

“Art is something I have always loved and I am taking it for GCSE. I will probably take art for A-level but I am not sure what I want to do yet.”

Mr Rawcliffe said he hoped to persuade other Vue Cinemas in Lancashire to use Lauren’s poster.